Sculpt--4.5/5
This is, hands down the best looking Stormtrooper in this scale. This sculpt takes all the great things from past Stormtrooper figures and adds a bunch of little details for even more accuracy. The helmet looks good and looks like it was based off of the POTJ Sandtrooper/Saga Imperial Forces Stormtrooper helmet. Both look pretty much the same, but the VOTC helmet has slightly larger lenses. As good as the helmet looks, I can't say that it's totally accurate to the movie version. It just doesn't seem fat enough...check out the photo with the 12" Marmit Stormtrooper to see what I mean.
UPDATE (11-02-2004): Since writing the review, I've been able to get another Stormtrooper and was surprised to find that it has a different helmet! Cosmetically it looks the same, but the newer helmet is much higher off the shoulders than the original. Taking off the helmets, a number on the inside rim of the helmets differentiates the two, the first helmet having the number "1" and the second having the number "2". The fact that they are numbered leads me to believe this was a deliberate variation on Hasbro's part, but on the other hand, maybe they just screwed up on the second mold.

Moving along, the chest and back armor has the great looks of Luke and Han's armor from the Trash Compactor set, and also adds an indented border along the edges of the armor. I'm not 100% sure if this is accurate but it does look good. The rest of the armor looks equally good, with sharp lines and a pretty smooth finish. The belt is molded separately like on the Han and Luke outfits which helps make the figure more realistic. Likewise, the "butt" armor is also molded separately from the hips unlike the Commtech Chip Stormtrooper. A somewhat new addition is the functional holster (this was actually first seen with the Death Star Accessory Set). It's not designed particularly well, as it was sculpted to hold the blaster the wrong way (handle facing forward) and it does not fully encase the blaster (the back is open). However, I would rather it be like this than have a bulky, ugly functional holster. Thankfully, you can put the blaster in the right way (handle facing back) and it still looks as good as it can look.

So what's not to like about this figure's sculpt? Not much. We once again have shallow pegholes in the feet, but I'd rather have shallow pegholes and ankle articulation than deeper pegholes and no ankle articulation. The neck area is perhaps the thing I like least about this figure. It's very easy to see the ball-joint underneath the helmet and I think making the neck longer would have helped hide the joint better. Another nit-pick are the little letter L's that can be found on the left shoulder, left elbow, and the left heel. Obviously, these were sculpted so they would know which limb went where when they put the figures together, but c'mon! Couldn't they find a better place to put them? The "L" on the elbow is hidden well because they put it on the black part, but the L's on the shoulder and heel are there in plain view.

Articulation--5/5
The Stormtrooper has 14 points of articulation: ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, wrists, ball-jointed abdomen, hips, ball-jointed knees, and ball-jointed ankles. Those hoping for articulation similar to the Super Articulated (SA) Clone Trooper will be pleased that this Stormtrooper is actually slightly better. The SA Clone Trooper's abdomen joint rotated and hinged forward and back, whereas the Stormtrooper not only rotates and hinges forward and back, but also side to side. With the added side to side movement, you get motion that is similar to a true ball-and-socket joint like VOTC Chewbacca's abdomen articulation. Range of motion is pretty good for all the joints except for the hip joints. The thigh and butt armor prohibit a wide range of motion, but it isn't that bad and as you can see from the photos, there are plenty of poses that can be created.

Accessories--3/5
You get a standard Imperial blaster rifle. The gun isn't made of the super soft plastic, which is a nice thing. However, mine came slightly bent but it doesn't bother me much.

Paint--4/5
Everything seems to be painted the right color, but there's some major sloppiness with the black paint. The left elbow area on my figure is particularly bad. I also think the black area at the "chin" of the helmet isn't painted well. It'd be cool if they could've coated the arms, legs, and helmet with a gloss finish to make it more shiny.

Packaging--5/5
One of the big draws about these figures is the reproduction packaging they come in. Anyone who grew up with the vintage figures will no doubt love seeing these. I myself have to admit that there is something kind of magical about holding these in my hands. It's like buying a bit of my childhood without paying hundreds of dollars. To make the package even more special, Hasbro encased them in a nice clamshell case which protects the card and bubble. The cardbacks are done well and show off the original figure in it's packaging and also show the other figures in the series. It's too bad Hasbro couldn't continue the vintage recreation to the cardbacks, but apparently there were legal issues with that. Still, it would have been cool if they had at least mimicked the look of the vintage cardbacks.

Overall--5/5
Despite some small issues, I can't help but give this figure a 5/5. It truly is a stellar figure with more accurate details over past versions and poseability to boot! Hasbro would be wise to mass-produce these guys and sell them to all the army builders who are no doubt snatching or wanting to snatch them up. If Hasbro can make a Han and Luke from these bodies then that would be awesome as well. Anyway, this is a highly recommended figure; don't pass him up!

--Photos and review by Garett Yoshimura
garett@carrotnetwork.com